In vitro antimicrobial effects of Myristica fragrans essential oil on foodborne pathogens and its influence on beef quality during refrigerated storage

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) seed was subjected to the hydro-distillation method to extract its essential oil (NEO). Its main constituents were α-pinene (20.16%), sabinene (14.45%), and β-pinene (13.26%) with great antimicrobial and antioxidant actions. A novel edible coating was then fabricated based on the sage seed mucilage (SSM) and NEO, to ameliorate the quality and shelf-life of beef slices. The NEO-loaded SSM coating was able to significantly decrease the population of total viable count, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, psychrotrophic bacteria, and fungi. Moreover, lipid oxidation of beef slices was remarkably suppressed upon the application of bioactive NEO-loaded SSM edible coating, as compared with the control by Day 6. The coated beef sample, especially NEO-rich SSM coated ones perceived a higher consumer acceptance and firmness than the SSM coated and noncoated samples. The SSM edible coating containing NEO could therefore have the potential to control the growth of pathogenic microorganisms and lipid oxidation, and to improve the color stability and sensory properties of meat and meat products.     

Sulfur removal of gas oil using ultrasound-assisted catalytic oxidative process and study of its optimum conditions

Ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization process (UAOD) was applied to reduce sulfur compounds of gas oil containing various types of sulfur content. The environmental regulation requires a very deep desulfurization to eliminate the sulfur compounds. UAOD is a promising technology with lower operating cost and higher safety and environmental protection. For the first time the typical phase transfer agent (tetraoctyl-ammonium-bromide) was replaced with isobutanol because using isobutanol is much more economical than TOAB, imposing no contamination. The reaction was carried out at optimal point with various temperatures, in single-, two- and three step-procedures, investigating the effect of gradual increase of H₂O₂ and TOAB being used instead of isobutanol. Total sulfur concentration in oil phase was analyzed by ASTM-D3120 method. The highest removal of about 90% for gas oil containing 9,500 mg/kg of sulfur was achieved in three-steps during 17 minutes of process at 62±2 °C when 180.3 mmol of H₂O₂ was used and extraction carried out by methanol.     

Supplier quality development: A review of literature and industry practices

Managing quality of suppliers is of prime importance in supply chains to minimise costs arising due to poor-quality products and services. Supplier quality development (SQD) is a strategic quality development activity for increasing quality, reliability and efficiency of suppliers. This paper reports results of review on the academic literature and industrial practices on SQD in order to find main concepts, steps, prevalent methodologies, tools and techniques, and best practices. We reviewed 177 papers from years 1980–2013 including 22 company manuals for conducting this study. The proposed review assists readers in developing a better understanding of SQD, involved processes and their key elements, tools and techniques used, challenges in supplier quality management, best practices from academics and industry, and open research problems in SQD that require detailed investigation.     

Multi-Objective Optimization of Osmotic–Ultrasonic Pretreatments and Hot-Air Drying of Quince Using Response Surface Methodology

In this study, application of a multi-objective optimization technique based on response surface methodology has been presented. Quince slices were dehydrated using osmotic dehydration with sucrose solutions at different concentration (40 and 60 Brix), processing time (1, 1.5, and 2 h), and ultrasonication time (0, 15, and 30 min) were the factors investigated with respect to water loss, solid gain, and weight reduction. Response surface methodology was used to determine the optimum processing conditions that yield maximum water loss and weight reduction and minimum solid gain during osmotic dehydration of quinces. Dehydrated quince slices at optimized osmo-ultrasound condition were then subjected to air-drying at 60 and 80 °C. Rehydration ratio, shrinkage, and moisture content of dried samples were regarded as responses to the non-thermal and air-drying conditions. Multi-objective optimization led to obtaining the best condition for production of dried quince slices with lowest moisture content, and shrinkage.     

Prediction of moisture content in pre-osmosed and ultrasounded dried banana using genetic algorithm and neural network

In this study, application of a versatile approach for estimation moisture content of dried banana using neural network and genetic algorithm has been presented. The banana samples were dehydrated using two non-thermal processes namely osmotic and ultrasound pretreatments, at different solution concentrations and dehydration times and were then subjected to air drying at 60 and 80 °C for 4, 5 and 6 h. The processing conditions were considered as inputs of neural network to predict final moisture content of banana. Network structure and learning parameters were optimized using genetic algorithm. It was found that the designed networks containing 7 and 10 neurons in first and second hidden layers, respectively, give the best fitting to experimental data. This configuration could predict moisture content of dried banana with correlation coefficient of 0.94. In addition, sensitivity analysis showed that the two most sensitive input variables towards such prediction were drying time and temperature.     

Effect of osmosis and ultrasound pretreatment on the moisture adsorption isotherms of quince

The effect of pretreatment osmotic–ultrasonic dehydration on the sorption isotherms of quince was determined by static gravimetric method at temperatures of 30 °C, 45 °C, and 60 °C. The curves obtained can be considered as type II according to the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) classification. Adsorption data were fitted into seven isotherm models. The best fit of the experimental data was obtained with Peleg for both fresh- and pretreated dried quince slices.Thermodynamic properties such as net isosteric heat, differential entropy, enthalpy–entropy compensation, and spreading pressure were determined from moisture adsorption isotherm data of quince. The net isosteric heat of sorption and differential entropy decreased with increasing moisture contents in an exponential function. A plot of differential heat versus entropy satisfied the enthalpy–entropy compensation theory. The spreading pressure increased with increasing water activity, and decreased with increasing temperature. The value of net isosteric heat, differential entropy and spreading pressure of untreated samples is higher than that of pretreated samples of quince.